Pokemon DP Alternate Fanfic!
by SnivArtista
Summary: So if you've read the DP Adventures Manga with Hareta, Jun, Mistumi, Koya, and all those characters, this fanfiction is my take on the manga with a few things thrown in. The story mainly focuses on Koya. I've also taken a few creative liberties and added in a new character that is supposed to be Koya's friend. She doesn't actually appear in the manga, she's my own creation. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: A New Friend

I was walking down the dirt roads of Twinleaf Town with my friend Growlithe by my side. We were heading to Lake Verity for the day to have battles with some wild Pokémon and any trainers that we could find.

"Ready to have some really fun battles, Growlithe?" I asked, looking down at the orange and black Puppy Pokémon walking next to me. Growlithe gave a few happy barks, running around in circles.

"You're gonna have to put your plans on hold today, Turquoise!" Growlithe and I turned around, only to find the town bullies standing behind us, all three of them with smirks on their faces.

"Why?" I asked. The boy in the middle sneered. He had brown hair, black eyes, a red shirt, neon green shorts, and orange sneakers.

"Because I said so." The other boys behind him laughed. The three of them, like all the other people in the town, had black, gray, or brown eyes.

Except for me. With my greenish-turquoise eyes, I was the town outcast, along with my mother, who had green eyes. My dad had plain brown ones.

"Why do you hate me so much?" I said. All three of the boys started to laugh.

"You look stupid, that's why!" One of the boys behind the main bully said. "Who wears a vest and shorts everyday?"

"Well, you wear shorts!" I shot back, Growlithe growling in agreement. "So I'm not the only one!"

"But you're the only one with turquoise eyes!" The boy in the middle said, as all three of them began to laugh again.

"You're picking on him because of his eye color?" Another voice said. This one sounded like it belonged to a girl about my age. The three boys turned around, annoyed at being interrupted.

"What do you want?" The boy on the right asked.

"I want you to leave him alone!" She had a red shirt, black knee-length leggings, and no shoes. She also had a Pokémon at her side, a blue one on all fours with yellow eyes and a black tail.

"And you think that we're gonna take you seriously?" All three of the bullies leered at her. Growlithe and I stood off to the side.

_Why is she helping me? _I thought.

"No!" she said with a smile. "It's just that…well, picking on someone because their eyes are a different color? Sounds pretty stupid, if you ask me!" The three boys looked at each other.

"Oh, whatever!" The leader said. "We've got better things to do than hang around with seven-year olds!" The threesome walked away, laughing all the while. The girl shook her head as she watched them leave.

"What losers!" She said, walking up to me. "Stinks to have those kid of people around, huh?"

"I guess," I said, looking at the ground

"What your name?" She asked. "I'm Phoenix! And this is my friend, Lucky!" She gestured to the Pokémon next to her.

"Shi!" the Pokémon cried.

"I'm Koya," I said. "And that's Growlithe." Phoenix's eyes lit up when she saw Growlithe.

"Awww, it's so cute!" She exclaimed. "Can I pet Growlithe?"

"Yeah, sure," I stepped aside to let her pet Growlithe. Growlithe seemed to enjoy being petted; he growled happily as Phoenix ran her hands up and down his furry coat.

"So are you a Trainer?" Phoenix stood up and smiled again.

"Not really, I guess I'm a bit more of a…"

"Pre-Trainer?"

"Something like that, yeah." A big grin started to form on Phoenix's face. It was a little creepy, to be honest.

"Okay then, Koya!" Lucky moved to stand proudly next to Phoenix.

"Okay what?" I asked.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"


	2. Chapter 2: Koya vs Phoenix

**A.N. Hey, everyone! Sniv is back! And she has Chapter Two with her! I haven't gotten Koya's voice down very well…just something to work on, I guess! Enjoy!**

_Brief Recap: _

_ "Okay then, Koya!" Lucky moved to stand proudly next to Phoenix. _

_ "Okay what?" I asked. _

_ "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" _

"A battle?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah! Down at the lake," Phoenix clenched her fists. "So, whatcha say?"

I looked down at Growlithe. He growled, going into a battle ready stance. "Guess I can't say no…so sure. I accept!"

"Awesome!" Phoenix cheered. "Come on, Koya!" She took of running in the direction of the lake, Lucky padding on after her.

**A.N. Lucky is a Shinx. Just a little FYI for you folks. **

"Wait up!" I yelled, breaking into a run, Growlithe following behind.

We arrived at Lake Verity a few moments later. There were many Trainers around with the same ideas as us: battling. There were small battles going on everywhere, and finding a spot was really hard. Eventually, Growlithe found a space near a rock for our fight.

"Ready?" Phoenix asked. Lucky stood in front of her, ready to fight. Growlithe and I took our places opposite of the two of them.

"Sure. And you can go first!"

"Okay! Lucky, use Charge!" Phoenix commanded. An electric charge began to surround the blue Pokémon, charging up its Electric moves.

"Growlithe, Tackle!" I yelled. Growlithe charged towards Lucky, who was still charging up.

"Hold your ground!" Phoenix cried. Lucky obeyed, keeping the Charge move going. Growlithe jumped, ready to knock the Shinx back, but as soon as he came in contact with Charge, electricity surged through its body, inflicting damage. Growlithe let out a cry and fell back on the ground.

"Growlithe, are you okay?" I exclaimed. Picking itself up off of the ground, Growlithe nodded, ready to continue.

"Whatcha think of that, Koya?" Phoenix yelled from across the field. "Pretty cool, huh?"

_She's right, _I thought to myself. _I've never seen anyone use Charge as an attack move before. _

"Now, use Spark!" Finished with the Charge, Lucky released a bolt of electricity, heading right for Growlithe.

"Flamethrower!" I yelled. The Flamethrower and the Spark collided, setting off an explosion, and covering the battlefield in smoke. "Growlithe, use Tackle!"

"SHI!" Lucky cried from inside the smoke. Tackle had hit Lucky, inflicting some damage.

"Forget that, Lu! Use Leer!" A gleam came from inside the smoke, which was starting to disappear. Growlithe froze, its defense down. "Now, Tackle!" All of a sudden, Lucky slammed into Growlithe, knocking it back some.

"Growlithe, get up!" I said. Once more, Growlithe stood up, panting.

"Ready to give up?" Phoenix asked. "Just say the word!"

"No!" I yelled back. "Growlithe, use Smoke Screen!" The entire battlefield was covered in smoke. "Follow up with Flamethrower!" In the middle of the smoke, a huge blast of flames appeared, then disappeared, followed by a pained cry.

"LUCKY!" The smoke cleared away to reveal the victor of the battle.

"We won!" I yelled in triumph. Growlithe ran towards me, jumping into my arms. "Nice job, Growlithe!" In return, I got a lick on the face.

"Oh, man…" Phoenix said quietly, walking over to where Lucky was and picking him up. "Did we just get skunked or what?"

"Inx…" Lucky said in exhaustion.

Phoenix walked over to me with Lucky in her arms. "You're really good at this, you know that?"

"I am?"

"Heck yeah! Koya, you're awesome with the whole battling scheme. I mean it!"

"Thanks," I smiled, putting out my hand. She grabbed it and we shook hands. "Is Lucky going to be okay?"

"Oh, sure," Phoenix said, looking down at the Shinx. "We've been through a lot worse than this. Right?" Lucky nodded, seeming to have recovered a bit.

_A lot worse? _I wondered. _That doesn't sound very good. _

"Anyway, we should battle again!"

"Right now?" I asked, looking down at Growlithe. He looked really tired, even though we won.

"No, silly!" Phoenix smiled. "Tomorrow! Or the next day, or maybe whenever! It'll be fun!"

"That sounds good to me." I said. Growlithe barked in agreement.

"Awesome!" Phoenix laughed. "Listen, I have to go, but I bet I'll see you around! Okay?"

"Okay." I nodded.

"See ya around, Koya!" She turned around and ran back to Twinleaf Town, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

"Hey, Growlithe…" I muttered.

"Growli?" Growlithe asked.

"I think we made a new friend."

**A.N. Sorry for the weird ending, I'm really not good at those. Meh. Oh well! Younger Koya is just so cute…don't mind me here, people, I'm just fangirling. **

**Haha! So yeah, sorry that I didn't update as soon as I should've. School is hectic. But I'll see you next time! Oh, and just saying, reviews are appreciated! Bai. -Sniv**


	3. Chapter 3: Meet Koya's Mom!

**A.N. Sniv is BACK! What's up? Here's Chapter 3 for you awesome people! Reviews are appreciated! Enjoy! Oh, and FYI, Koya's family situation is a little weird, but it'll come into play later. Promise! –Sniv**

_Brief Recap: _

"_See ya around, Koya!" She turned around and ran back to Twinleaf Town, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. _

_ "Hey, Growlithe…" I muttered. _

_ "Growli?" Growlithe asked. _

_ "I think we made a new friend." _

I opened up the wooden door that at the front of my house cautiously, checking to see if there was anyone home.

"Hello?" I called. There was the sound of footsteps coming from inside the house that were coming closer.

"Why were you gone for so long, Koya?" I looked up and saw the face of my mother: blonde hair and green eyes, like me.

"I was battling someone," I stepped into the house and closed the door behind me.

"Really?" Mom asked. "Who was it this time?"

"A girl," I muttered, walking to the kitchen and taking some crackers out of the old wooded cupboard under the sink.

"What did you say?" She followed me into the kitchen. I sighed, not wanting to tell her the truth, because if I did, Mom would freak.

"I said a girl," I fed a possibly stale cracker to Growlithe, waiting for my mom's reaction.

"A GIRL?" Mom yelled. "What's her name? Where does she live? What is she like?" I was getting hammered with all of her questions. Growlithe whimpered, and I gave him a pat on the head and sighed.

"Her name's Phoenix. I don't know where she lives. And she's nice. She also has a Shinx," I answered.

"Phoenix! Hmmm…" Mom muttered under her breath. "Well…it could be worse."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's nothing." I shrugged and walked upstairs to my room, Growlithe following behind. The upstairs of our house was a lot like the downstairs: old, dark, and very quiet. I got to my room and flipped on the light switch, dim light flooding into the room.

I plopped down on my bed. "Say, Growlithe…" I started, picking him up and setting him down next to me on the bed.

"Growl?"

"Why do you think Mom goes crazy whenever I mentioned a girl? And she was acting really strange when I said Phoenix's name…what's going on?" Growlithe shrugged and laid down, leaving me to puzzle this out for myself.

**A.N. Blurp. Sorry about the weird ending, I was making this one up as I went along. Haha. Well, the next chapter will be a little more interesting. I hope so. Bai for now! -Sniv**

**UPDATE: 11/25/14- Added some more detail. That's all. **


	4. Chapter 4: Flowers and Scary Phoenix

**Hey, everyone! Sniv's back with Chapter Four! Oh, and I changed the rating just to be safe, 'cause you never know…but enjoy this chapter! –Sniv**

_Brief Recap:_

"_Why do you think Mom goes crazy whenever I mentioned a girl? And she was acting really strange when I said Phoenix's name…what's going on?" Growlithe shrugged and laid down, leaving me to puzzle this out for myself. _

_**THE NEXT DAY…**_

Growlithe and I headed out of the house, waving goodbye to my mom as we closed the door behind us. We started walking on the main road through Twinleaf Town, the almost-summer air blowing through the Town.

"You want to go to the lake, Growlithe?" Growlithe barked happily, then started to run in the direction of Lake Verity. I chased after him, and we soon arrived at the lake.

There weren't many people around, mostly just couples having picnics. And they were kissing…blech. I covered my eyes, trying to avoid the scene. After we got past all the couples, there weren't very many people around.

"Koya!" Someone yelled. I looked around for who yelled, and saw Phoenix waving. "C'mere!" Growlithe and I ran over to where Phoenix was standing, next to a big rock with Lucky. Growlithe and Lucky started to play together, and I watched them for a while until Phoenix tapped me on the shoulder.

"Look!" She whispered, pointing over to some trees. I looked over to where she was pointing and saw…flowers.

"Phoenix, they're just flowers!" I said, shaking my head.

"Well, yeah…but they're cool!" Phoenix said with a laugh. I shrugged.

"They're just flowers." I muttered.

"But they're still cool." Phoenix argued.

"Fine…they're cool." I said.

We stood there for a while, looking at the Magikarp and Finneon swimming in the lake, until Phoenix broke the silence.

"What do you think is there?" She asked, pointing at the little island in the middle of the lake.

"I don't know!" I said with a shrug.

"Wouldn't it be awesome to find out?" Phoenix asked, her eyes glowing.

I shrugged again. "Even if we wanted to, we can't. There's no way that we can get out there, and we're not allowed." Phoenix raised her eyebrows at me, then punched me playfully in the shoulder.

"You're such a party pooper, Koya! 'They're just flowers…We can't get out there…' Don't you think anything is cool?" I shrugged for the third time. "And are your shoulders loose?" Phoenix asked, grabbing my shoulders and pushing them down. "They must be, they're always moving up and down…"

"My shoulders aren't loose!" I said, taking her hands off. "And I think that some things are cool, just not flowers and islands!" Phoenix shrugged. "Plus, you just shrugged!" Even though I was a little mad, I found myself smiling for some reason.

_I wonder why I'm smiling? _I thought to myself.

"Koya!" Phoenix yelled, breaking into my thoughts. "Listen, there's something that I want to show you tonight. So can you come to my house? Around seven or something like that?"

"Yeah, but I don't know where your house is." I said.

"Then I'll show you!" She grabbed my arm and started walking away. Growlithe and Lucky jumped off of the rock that they were playing on and followed us to wherever we were going.

We walked out of the Lakefront, then down the main road. People passed by us, a few nodding to Phoenix. Suddenly, a man's shadow was cast over us.

"Hey!" Someone growled. "Koya, what are you doing?" We stopped walking and looked up at the owner of the shadow. My eyes widened in fear.

It was my father.

"D-dad!" I stuttered. Growlithe whimpered and hid behind my leg. Phoenix looked at me in confusion.

"That's your dad?" She asked. I nodded in fear. I didn't like the look in his maniacal brown eyes.

"What are you doing with a girl?" Dad snarled.

"I…I…she's…my…my friend!" I whispered. Any answer to that question was a wrong one, though. Dad swung back his hand and slapped me in the face, knocking me to the ground.

"Koya!" Phoenix yelped, kneeling down next to me. "Are you okay?" I shook my head, tears starting to form in my eyes.

"You pathetic boy…can't even take a hit!" Dad laughed. "I can't even belive that you're my son!" I started to sit up, but he kicking me in the stomach, knocking the air out of me, and causing me to fall to the ground. I began to cry, but no sound came out. Growlithe licked my face, trying to comfort me.

But what I saw next surprised me.

"Leave…him…alone." Phoenix growled, glaring up at my dad. I saw my dad's eyes widen a bit, but only for a second. "Or you're gonna go through me."

"What can you do?" Dad laughed. "You're just a prissy little girl!" Phoenix shook her head and pulled out a Pokéball from the pocket of her leggings.

**A.N. If you can pull a sleeping bag out of nothing…leggings have pockets.**

"You know what's in this Pokéball?" Phoenix grinned…but it was a very freaky grin. Dad backed up a few steps. "It's an Onix. You wanna know what he'll do to you?"

"What? How can you have an Onix?"

"YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT MY ONIX CAN DO YOU YOUR FACE OR WHAT?" Phoenix roared. Dad jumped.

_He's never done that before!_ I thought.

"I-I…" Dad was stuttering now, backing up as Phoenix slowly advanced on him, holding the Pokéball out in front of her like a sword.

"HE'LL MURDER YOU WITH HIS TAIL, THAT'S WHAT!" Phoenix shrieked. By this time, we had a fair amount of people watching us.

"You…you…I…" It looked like dad was going into full panic mode now. And he'd never done that before…was Phoenix really scaring him?

"So LEAVE KOYA ALONE." Phonenix growled. "OR ELSE." Dad nodded, and to my surprise, ran for it. My eyes widened.

_Did Phoenix just scare my dad? MY DAD? _

The crowd of people around us started to walk away, in their own separate directions. Phoenix put the Pokéball back into her pocket and walked over to me on the ground.

"You okay?" She asked. I nodded, sitting up.

"How did you do that?" I asked, shakily standing up.

"I just did, that's all," Phoenix answered vaguely. "Now c'mon, we're going to my house! My mom can help you too," She pointed to my cheek, which was starting to swell a bit.

"Okay," I said, following Phoenix down the road.

_I just hope that she's not gonna do what she did to dad to me…_

**Well, there you have it! Chapter Four. I kinda cut it short because…well it was getting kinda long. But that means there is more to look forward too! Also: Koya's dad…yeah I know that he was a jerk, but I needed him to be like that so Phoenix could do that…I'm very sorry if I have offended anyone. And Onix? You'll find out soon…**

**Also, special thanks to my awesome friend Julia who is awesome and read this fanfic…resulting in us fangirling about it. XD rock on, Fandom Friend! **

**Bai for now! -Sniv**


	5. Chapter 5: Help from a Friend

**T8tI'm here, everyone! I brought Chapter Five with me too! Everyone happy? Good? Okay! Let's start! –Sniv**

_Brief Recap: _

"_I just did, that's all," Phoenix answered vaguely. "Now c'mon, we're going to my house! My mom can help you too," She pointed to my cheek, which was starting to swell a bit. _

"_Okay," I said, following Phoenix down the road. _

_I just hope that she's not gonna do what she did to my dad to me…_

We arrived at Phoenix's house a few minutes later. It was a really nice house actually: wooden front and wooden steps, and the windows and roof were minty green. Phoenix and Lucky walked up the stairs to the front door, and then she motioned for me to follow. Growlithe and I climbed the steps quietly, my cheek still stinging.

Phoenix opened the door and then yelled. "HEY MOM, I'M HOME! AND I BROUGHT SOMEONE WITH ME!" We walked inside the house, and Lucky ran off, jumped on the couch, and tried to take a nap. Only problem was, Growlithe decided to follow Lucky, and the two began play fighting again. Phoenix shrugged and pulled me into the main part of the house. Everything was connected: the kitchen, the main room, and a door off to the side that I assumed was the bathroom.

"Keep your voice down, Phoenix! How many times have I had to tell you that?" A woman that looked somewhat like Phoenix came down the stairs. She had black hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans.

"Too many," Phoenix muttered. I just stood off to the side, wondering what was going on.

"Who is this?" Her mom asked, walking over to me.

"Mom, Koya. Koya, Mom." Phoenix pointed back and forth at the both of us. Her mother's eyes widened when she saw my face.

"Koya!" She said in surprise. "Oh! Phoenix has told me a lot about you. But what happened to your cheek?"

"I…" I said, looking at the ground. I hated meeting new adults. I was fine with kids, even though most of them made fun of me, they were still easier to talk to then grownups.

"She's not gonna hurt you!" Phoenix whispered. "C'mon Koya, you don't have to be scared." Her mom nodded too, kneeling down to my height.

"Ummm…my dad hit me." I said quietly.

"Your father hit you?" Her mom asked. I nodded, completely embarrassed with myself. "Okay, then in that case, you two can go sit on the couch, and I'll get something for your cheek. That alright with you?" I nodded again, and we both went over to the couch. Phoenix picked up Lucky and set him on the floor, and he ran off, Growlithe bounding off after him.

"See?" Phoenix said with a smile. "I toldja that my mom wouldn't hurt you!" I shrugged and looked away, still mortified. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" I said quietly, still not wanting to look at Phoenix.

"Y'sure about that?" She asked. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and my embarrassment level was turned up a notch.

"Yeah…I am." I shrugged.

"You'll still come though, right?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to face her.

"Don't you remember? What I told you about at the lake, silly!" Phoenix laughed and gave me a friendly shove. "I wanted to show you something tonight."

"Oh…right." I nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'm still coming."

Phoenix's mom came over and raised her eyebrows at us sitting on the couch, and handed me an ice pack. "Put this on your cheek, okay?" I nodded and took the ice pack from her and placed it gingerly on my cheek. It still stung, but not very much.

"Thank you, ummm…" I trailed off, remembering that I didn't know Phoenix's last name.

"You can call me Miriam." Miriam smiled, and sat down next to Phoenix. "Now, where are you two going tonight?"

"Down to the lake, mom." Phoenix said.

"Alright. I just wanted to know." Miriam stood up and walked over to the kitchen.

Growlithe and Lucky came bounding back into the main room, probably having explored the entire house"Hey, Phoenix?" I said.

"What's up?" She asked cheerfully, her hand still on my shoulder.

"I gotta go…"

"You do?" Phoenix picked up Lucky and placed him on her lap. "Well, if you have to. Just come over around seven, 'kay?"

"Thanks for your help." I said, heading towards the door with Growlithe padding behind me.

"No problem!" Phoenix called as I shut the door behind me and headed down the wooden steps.

"Growl?" Growlithe said.

"Well…I'm going back to her house, anyway…" I told Growlithe. "So, I might as well not tell Mom and Dad where I've been, or where I'm going." Growlithe nodded, and we headed back to my house.

**Chapter Five has been finished! Yay! If you didn't like this one, the next chapter is going to be pretty sweet! As in, cute. Kawaiiness everywhere! Hee hee. Bai for now! -Sniv**


	6. Chapter 6: The Lake

**Hello, friends. Sniv is back with a very kawaii chapter! Well, it's cute in my opinion…I guess I just ship these two automatically. It's my fanfic after all…anyway, enjoy! –Sniv**

_Brief Recap:_

"_Well…I'm going back to her house, anyway…" I told Growlithe. "So, I might as well not tell Mom and Dad where I've been, or where I'm going." Growlithe nodded, and we headed back to my house. _

_**LATER THAT DAY…**_

It was around six-forty five when I arrived at Phoenix's house for the second time that day. Growlithe and I climbed up the wooden stairs and knocked on the front door.

We only had to wait about five seconds until the door was opened. "You came!" Phoenix said with a smile.

"Why wouldn't I?" I shrugged.

"Well, you don't seem very enthusiastic about this," Phoenix responded, walking down the steps, Lucky following after her. "Why dont'cha smile for once? I've never seen you smile." We started walking down the dirt road towards the lake. There were a lot of people outside, most of them playing outside their houses or sitting on their porches talking.

**A.N. Yeah, I know Koya smiled, like, once, but Phoenix didn't notice that. There. Plot hole fixed. **

"There isn't anything to smile about," I muttered.

"Excuse me?" Phoenix said in surprise. "There's nothing to smile about? There are plenty of things to smile about!"

"Not for me," I grumbled, looking away. Growlithe growled at me in disagreement.

"Oh, don't say that," Phoenix said, giving me a friendly shove. "You've got Growlithe, you've got a house…you've got parents, you've got people to talk to…you've got a lot of things to smile about."

"I guess…"

"Listen, Koya," Phoenix said as we headed out of Twinleaf Town and towards the lakefront. "Tell me something that makes you smile."

"Uhhhhh…" I didn't really know what to say. She'd already said everything that should've made me smile, but…

"Growl!" Growlithe barked, nudging me with his paw.

"What?" I whispered.

"Grow growli gr grow? Growlithe, growl growli?" (_Haven't you smiled once before? When you were around her?) _Growlithe looked at Phoenix and Lucky then, back at me. I raised my eyebrows.

"I can't say that! She'd just take it the wrong way…"

"Uh, Koya?" Phoenix tapped me on the shoulder as we arrived at the lake. "Are you planning on giving me an answer anytime soon?"

"What? Oh, um…" I looked down at Growlithe, who nodded. "Well…you, I guess." I said the last part in a whisper so Phoenix couldn't hear me.

"What?"  
"I said, you!" I could feel my face beginning to heat up for some reason. _What's wrong with me? _

Phoenix's eyes widened. "You're really serious?" She said in disbelief as we walked over to the rock where we had first battled.

"Umm…yeah." I looked at the lake, trying to avoid her gaze.

"Turn around," Phoenix ordered.

_Wait, what? Turn around? Why? _

"Koya! Can you please just turn around?!" I sighed and turned around. Lucky and Growlithe were playing on the big and flat rock, and Phoenix was staring at me. It wasn't like a regular stare. It was more of a…_You're seriously telling me the truth? _kind of stare.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Phoenix said nothing, but looked at the ground. Then, out of nowhere, she flung her arms around my neck and pulled me in closer to her. My eyes widened in surprise. _Oh no…what do I do now? Do I hug her back? Agh…what do I do now?" _I looked at Growlithe and Lucky, who were standing on the rock and staring at us. Lucky wagged his tail and nodded, signaling that I should hug her back. I cautiously wrapped my arms around her back, nervous about what would happen next.

"You're seriously telling me the truth?" Phoenix asked.

"Yeah, I am." I said. "But why are you reacting like this? I just gave you a compliment…that's all."

"No one's ever given me a compliment before…" Phoenix said into my shoulder. "My mom just tells me everything that I could be doing better…and my dad…he's a different story. He hates me."

"But…where's you're dad?" He hadn't been at Phoenix's house when I had gone there with her.

"My parent's are divorced. I go to my dad's over the summer. And the only thing that he cares about is the fact that I'm not a guy."

"Well, I'm kinda glad that you're not a guy." I said quietly. "You're perfectly fine as a girl, you know." Phoenix laughed.

"Thank you, Koya…" Phoenix said, taking her arms off of my shoulers. "You're awesome."

"Uh…no problem." The sun was starting to set over the lake. It was actually very pretty. "So, is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked, pointing at the sun.

"What? No, of course not!" Phoenix picked up Lucky off of the rock and sat down. "Just wait for it." I shrugged and sat down on the rock.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, I got impatient. "Phoenix, how long is this going to take?" Phoenix clamped her hand over my mouth in response.

"Shush, or you're gonna scare them!" Phoenix whispered, looking intently at the trees lining the lake.

I didn't she what she was talking about until I looked closer at the shore of the lake. The flowers that we saw earlier weren't actually flowers: they were Oddish, Gloom, and I even saw a few Vileplume. They gathered along the edge of the lake and started releasing Stun Spore and Sleep Powder into the air. The spores floated in the air, catching the rays of the setting sun and were reflected in the water.

And it was beautiful.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" I asked in awe. Phoenix grinned and nodded.

"Isn't it pretty? And I told you that they weren't just flowers." She said, punching me in the arm.

"How did you know?" I said, looking at the spores float across the lake.

"Well, whenever I see the flowers, I know that they'll be out on the lake that night…usually whenever the weather's nice." Phoenix said with a shrug. "But I never really told anyone about it. Other people have seen it, but I'm not really sure if anyone actually knows when it happens."

"Then why'd you tell me?" I asked, looking at her in confusion.

" 'Cause you're my friend, Koya!" Phoenix laughed.

The two of us sat there on the rock in silence for a while.

_She's my friend… _I thought to myself. I looked over at Phoenix again, who was watching the Pokémon light up the sunset. _And I guess I'm her friend too. I guess everything is going to be fine…for a while. _

I slowly started to drift off to sleep, exhausted by the day's events…

**A.N. It's done! Yay! This chapter was delayed due to an essay that I had to write for English class. But it's done and now I'm happy! And I must say, those two are just adorable. Hee hee. Sniv is happy. HAHAHAHAHAHAH…okay, bai! **

**-Sniv**


	7. Chapter 7: Attack!

**Sniv is back! WARNING: This chapter has some blood and other crap like that in it, so if you're squeamish about that kind of stuff, I recommend that you skip this chapter! Then again, I also recommend that you don't, because this one is kinda important. But hey, whatever! Enjoy! (And since I've been forgetting to do this): I don't own Pokémon or the character of Koya. But I do technically own Phoenix. Okay, I'll shut up now. –Sniv**

_Brief Recap: _

_She's my friend… I thought to myself. I looked over at Phoenix again, who was watching the Pokémon light up the sunset. And I guess I'm her friend too. I guess everything is going to be fine…for a while. _

_I slowly started to drift off to sleep, exhausted by the day's events…_

I was shaken awake by a hand on my shoulder. "What's going on?" I asked groggily. The person shook me again.

"Koya! Wake up." I slowly opened up my eyes and saw my mother standing over me, as well as someone standing next to her.

"Mom?" I asked. "What are you doing here?" I then became aware of something on my shoulder. I looked over to my left and saw Phoenix's head resting on my shoulder. She must've fallen asleep too…

"Do you know what time it is?" My mom asked angrily.

"No…" I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"It's ten-thirty!" Mom exclaimed. "At night! Where have you been?"

"Right here…" I grumbled. On my left shoulder, Phoenix lifted up her head and shook it a few times, nearly hitting me in the face with her ponytail.

"What happened?" Phoenix asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We fell asleep. You fell asleep on my shoulder, actually." I whispered.

"Oh." Phoenix's cheeks turned a little pink. "Well, sorry."

"You have some explaining to do, missy." Someone said. Phoenix, my mom, and I turned and saw Phoenix's mother standing over us with an extremely angry look on her face.

"Mom, I told you that I was going to be here!" Phoenix argued.

"YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE GONE FOR THREE HOURS!"

"But…" Phoenix looked at the ground. "I didn't know…"

"Enough." Miriam grabbed Phoenix's hands and pulled her off the rock. "Phonicia Allacourt, you are going home." Phoenix opened her mouth to argue, but Miriam interrupted her. "NOW." Phoenix nodded and gestured to Lucky to come with her, then looked at me.

"See you tomorrow, Koya…" The two walked away, Phoenix hanging her head in shame.

My mom shook her head. "Honestly…now come on, Koya. It's about time that we went home as well." I nodded and got off of the rock, Growlithe jumping off after me.

**A FEW DAYS LATER...**

Growlithe and I were waiting for Phoenix at the lake near the rock, where we usually battled. We had been battling for a few days, and I had still won all of the battles that we had.

_Maybe I'll lose today…_ I thought, like I did every day. I looked around the lakefront at all of the people that were there. But Phoenix's wasn't among them.

Suddenly, I was tackled from behind, landing face-first on the ground. "Hey, Koya!" Phoenix laughed, getting off of my back.

"Can you please not do that?" I asked, separating myself from the grass. Growlithe licked my face, seeing if I was okay.

"Sorry. I'm just excited, that's all!" Phoenix grinned. "And I bet I'll win today!" Lucky cheered in agreement.  
_I want you to win. _I thought in my head. Out loud I said: "No, I think I'm gonna win."

"No one is going to win today." A voice said. A shadow was cast over me and Phoenix, and both of us looked up to see who was blocking the sun.

The voice belonged to a man that I had never seen around town before. He had blue hair that stuck up at the ends, and beady black eyes. He was wearing a silver vest with a yellow G on it, and black pants as well as a black-ish shirt on underneath his jacket. There was a big Pokémon at his side, one with really sharp claws.

I looked over at Phoenix, who was completely paralyzed, and had a look of extreme fear on her face. _Does she know this guy? _

"D-D-Dad!" Phoenix stuttered. "W-What are you doing here?"

"That's your FATHER?" I said in disbelief. How the heck could Phoenix be related to this guy? They didn't look anything alike. And from what I had seen of this man, they didn't act anything alike either.

"Yes." The man said. "My name is Cyrus. And Phonicia is my daughter." 

Phoenix was shaking in fear. "M-My name is Phoenix! Not Phonicia!" Cyrus glared at her, and she flinched like he had slapped her instead of just looking at her.

"Your name is irrelevant." Cyrus said with an air of authority. "I've come for another reason." He looked over at me and Growlithe, and I froze. How could this man be so intimidating?

"Why?" I asked, knowing that I probably shouldn't have.

"For starters…" Cyrus said, shifting his gaze from me to Phoenix. "Why have you been battling this boy?"

"B-Because…he's my friend!" Phoenix said, still shaking.

"What have I been telling you?" Cyrus demanded.

"I-I can't battle anyone…" Phoenix said, looking at the ground. I was expecting Cyrus to slap her, but he didn't. All he did was look at her in disdain, then turn to me.

"Since we can't have that..." Cyrus said, glaring at me. The Pokémon at his side tensed, ready to strike. "We'll just have to get rid of you." He smiled evilly, his beady black eyes trained on me.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked. I was shaking in fear too, but looked around to see if anyone was going to help us. Of course, no one was looking our way, and even if they were, who would help the outcast and his friend?

"This." Cyrus motioned to his Pokémon, and it leapt into the air and disappeared. Phoenix and I looked around in confusion. It appeared again right in front of me, it's claws gleaming. I tried to run away, but before I could, it slashed at my arm viciously.

"KOYA!" Phoenix screamed. I dropped to the ground in pain, a long gash on my right arm bleeding badly.  
The Pokémon lashed out again, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.

But it never came.

I slowly opened my eyes to see blood dripping in front of my face. But it wasn't my blood.

It was Phoenix's.

She had stuck her arm out in front of me.

_W-What is she doing? _I thought. _Is she trying to protect me?_

_ "_LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Phoenix screamed. "JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Phoenix, NO!" I yelled. "DON'T! P-PLEASE DON'T!"

Phoenix turned around and looked at me, her arm still out in front of me. "It's my fault." She said quietly. "Not yours."

"W-What?" I said in disbelief. "No…please! I don't…I don't want you to…" Tears started to pour down my face. "Phoenix! I don't want you to die!"

"Who said anything about dying?" Phoenix said, kneeling down in front of me. "I'm not going to die."

"Step aside, Phonicia." Cyrus said. "NOW."

"I'm not gonna let you hurt him!" Phoenix shot back. "I CHALLENGED KOYA FIRST!" Her voice rose to a yell. "IT'S MY FAULT! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! SO YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE GONNA HURT ME! AND NOT HIM!"

Cyrus's eyes narrowed. "Step aside, you stupid girl."

"No." Phoenix said. "I'm not going to."

The Pokémon growled, some blood dripping off of its claws. Cyrus nodded, and without warning, the Pokémon sprang up and slashed Phoenix right across her face. Then, it cut her on her other arm.

"You pathetic child." Cyrus said disdainfully. "You disappoint me."

"I-I-I'm okay with that." Phoenix said. I saw some blood spatter onto the ground. "I wish I wasn't your daughter." Cyrus's eyes widened.

"WEAVILLE! ONE MORE ATTACK!" Weaville obeyed and slashed Phoenix again.

"Pathetic." Cyrus said again. He recalled Weaville and turned around. "I'm ashamed of you, Phonicia." With a shake of his head, Cyrus turned around and walked away.

"But she's your daughter!" I cried, standing up. "Don't you care about her?"

"Not in the slightest." Cyrus said coldly. "I couldn't care less about her."

"B-But…" I said.

"Koya…" Phoenix groaned. "Don't push it." I turned around to look at her, and my mouth dropped open.

Her face was a mess of blood, two cuts running across it, creating an "X", the center of it around her left eye. And her arms were bleeding, blood spreading all over the place.

"PHOENIX!" I yelled. "You're…you're all…"

Phoenix spat another mouthful of blood on to the ground. "I…I'm sorry." With that, she fell forwards on to the ground.

I ran over to her, kneeling in the little puddle of blood that was gathering on the ground. "No…no…Phoenix…please…" I turned to Growlithe and Lucky, who had been watching the scene in horror. "Get help…get Nurse Joy…" They nodded and ran off. I looked back down at Phoenix, who was still bleeding. "Don't die…please, Phoenix…I don't want you to die!" I began to cry, tears mixing with the puddle of blood on the ground. "Please…"

A few minutes passed, and the bleeding began to let up a bit.

"Is this the girl?" Someone behind me asked. I turned around and saw Nurse Joy standing behind me with a few Chanseys. Growlithe and Luckuy a few feet behind her.

I nodded, for not being able to speak. Nurse Joy nodded to one of the Chansey, and it lifted Phoenix up in its arms.

"I…don't let her die…" I said quietly, tears still pouring down my face.

"Don't worry." Nurse Joy said. "We'll do the best that we can. Okay?" I nodded, and Nurse Joy and the Chanseys ran off towards the Pokémon Center.

"Growlithe, Lucky…" I said. The two Pokémon ran towards me and into my arms, and I hugged them both tightly. "I gotta tell Miriam…" I slowly stood up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I fell to my knees. _Was it the blood?_

Then, I looked down at my own arm, which was still bleeding. I groaned and tried to stand up again, putting my other hand over my bloody cut. Growlithe and Lucky both cried in protest, but I took a couple of steps before another wave of dizziness hit me. I fell to my knees again, black spots beginning to dot my vision.

"N…no…" I got up again, but instead of the dizziness, I felt the sensation of falling backwards. I hit the ground with a thump, black spots dotting most of my vision.

The last thing that I remembered before I blacked out was Growlithe, licking my face.

**A.N. THE FEELS. THE FEELS. FEELS OVERLOAD. Seriously, people. DO YOU NOT FEEL THE FEELS? 'Cause I know I do. Sorry if this chapter was a bit graphic. The next few won't be as bad. Promise!**

**Again, I don't own any characters here (except for Phoenix) and yeah. Disclaimer, disclaimer…random…crap…here. Bai! -Sniv**


	8. Chapter 8: Aftermath

**Hello! Sniv is back with Chapter 8! It's a little bit of a recovery after Chapter 7…I hope…*sadness*. Anyway, I don't own any of the characters used except for Phoenix. Enjoy! –Sniv**

"Nnngh…" I groaned, starting to come awake. "Where…am I?" I slowly opened my eyes, and found that I was staring, not at the sky, but at a white ceiling.

"Koya!" A voice said. I slowly turned my head to the source of the voice.

"What…?" The voice sounded strangely like my mother's. When I fully opened my eyes, I saw that it was my mother, sitting in a chair at the edge of my bed with a worried look on her face.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked, standing up. "And what happened? What have you gotten yourself into, Koya? I should have never let you hang around with that girl…she's just trouble!"

"Phoenix isn't trouble…" I said softly. "She's my friend." Then, something occurred to me. "I-Is she okay?"

Mom shook her head. "I don't know anything about her condition…" She sat down in the chair again and began to stroke my hair. "What on earth happened to you two? Oh…oh…this is all my fault!"

"No it's not…" I said. "Phoenix's father attacked us with his Weavile." I didn't mention that his intended target had been me, and not Phoenix.

"WHAT?!" My mom yelled. "I KNEW IT! Koya, I'm sorry!"

"Why are you sorry?" I asked, burying my face in the white hospital pillow a little bit.

"That GIRL!" Mom roared. "HER! I should have NEVER let you hang around her!"

"Phoenix isn't a bad person, mom…" I said again, a few tears starting to fall down my cheeks as I thought back to what had happened. "She protected me…"

"She did what?"

"N-Nothing…" I said, trying to disappear into the pillow.

"Ugh…honestly, Koya! Have some better sense." Mom shook her head again, this time in exasperation.

"What do you mean?"

"Koya, that girl…" Mom said. "She's a troublemaker. She's a rebel and a no-good person. Her family is screwed up. And her father isn't a good man either. In fact, I'd say he's downright evil. She's an outcast, Koya. I don't want you talking to her anymore."

"I…" I couldn't believe what my mother had said. _Phoenix isn't a bad person. No. She's my friend. I'm not going to listen to mom. _"Mom, she's my friend, and…I'm an outcast too! I am! I'm not going to call her an outcast if I'm an outcast myself…that wouldn't be right." I took a deep breath, preparing to say words that I had never said before. "I'm not going to listen to you. Because you're wrong."

"Excuse me?" Mom asked, standing up.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" I yelled, something that I had never done to my mom before. "YOU'RE WRONG! YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT ME! AND YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT PHOENIX! YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS LISTEN TO RUMORS AND ASSUME THINGS! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ANYONE IS LIKE!"

"I…" Mom backed up towards the door. "I don't…" She placed her hand on the doorknob.

"You aren't my mother." I growled, sitting up. "You aren't. And you never will be."

"You're just like your father." She snarled back. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I yelled.

"Fine." She turned the doorknob and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I flopped back down on the pillow with a long sigh.

_What did I just do? _

**A.N. This chapter was mostly made up as I went along…um…sorry? Eh, it'll be better next time. And sorry for the delay. Homework+Cruddy Wifi=Delayed Chapters. So ya…bai! -Sniv**


	9. Chapter 9: Hospital Talk

**A.N. Uh…I'm not doing the Brief Recaps anymore. Sorry! Anyway, here's a little note about this chapter: It takes place over a few days, so the ******** means it's a new day. It's not censorship. Okay? And I don't own Pokémon. (Because if I did, Phoenix would be an actual character.) –Sniv**

I stared at the door that my mom had just left through. What had I just done? How could I have done something like that? Was I really like my father?

I really hoped that I wasn't.

Shaking my head, I got out of the hospital bed, just noticing my arm. It was covered in a white bandage and still stung a bit, probably from the cut. I made my way to the door and opened it, looking around. There was no one in the hallway, aside from some green benched. Shutting the door behind me, I walked out into the hospital-white hallway and was immediately greeted by Growlithe, who tackled me to the ground.

"Hi, Growlithe…" I said, sticking out my good arm for him to lick. "Where've you been?" Growlithe barked happily and put his paws on my legs. In return, I gave him a hug.

"Shi!" I looked up and saw Lucky running down the hallway. "Shi! Shinx shi shi!"

"What's going on, Lucky?" I asked. Lucky ran in a circle and looked down the hallway, then back at me. A feeling of dread started spreading in my stomach. "I-Is that where Phoenix is?" Lucky nodded. "Is…is she still…alive?"

"Shi…inx." I gulped, but stood up anyway.

"Where is she?" Lucky turned around and started walking down the hallway, me and Growlithe walking behind. The Shinx turned down a different hallway with a sign that read "IC Unit."

_What does that stand for? _ I wondered as we kept on walking. Suddenly, Lucky stopped at a closed door with a small window next to it. I walked over to the window and looked inside.

But I wasn't prepared for what I would see.

Phoenix was lying, unconscious in a hospital bed, with a weird mask over her mouth. She had wires stuck in her body, and a big monitor connected to the wires with a bunch of symbols that I didn't understand. Her face was covered in bandages.

"What…what…" I put my hand on the wall. "That should be me in there…not Phoenix…" Growlithe and Lucky looked up at me with concern. "I…I need to get out of here…" I said, and with that, I turned and ran down the hallway with Growlithe and Lucky close behind.

I didn't want to see Phoenix like that anymore.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The next day, I went back to the Pokémon Center and into the IC Unit, whatever that was. I stood outside the door for a while, until it opened and Nurse Joy came out.

"Are you Koya?" She asked, kneeling down. I nodded "Are you here to see Phoenix?" I nodded again.

"Is she still…" The words caught in my throat. With cuts like that…she couldn't have made it through the night. _Phoenix is dead. And it's my fault. All of it. _A few tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"She's alive."

"WHAT?" I almost yelled. "How?"

"I don't know…" Nurse Joy said with a smile. "But somehow, she is. Medical miracle, I say. The good thing is that she's alive." There was a loud beeping coming from inside the room. Nurse Joy stood up and ran inside, and I cautiously followed, motioning for Lucky and Growlithe to stay outside.

Nurse Joy was looking at the monitor, which was currently displaying a strange wave pattern that obviously made sense to her. She walked over to the bed and took breathing mask off of Phoenix's face.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"She's waking up." Nurse Joy said, hanging the mask on a hook. "Koya, do you know where her mom is?"

"No…I don't." I said quietly. "She wasn't even here when I came by yesterday."

Nurse Joy raised her eyebrows. "Do you know why?"

I shook my head.

The monitor started beeping again, this time louder. Nurse Joy walked over to the bed, pulled up two chairs, and sat down in one of them. She motioned for me to sit down in the other, so I sat.

"What now?" I whispered.

"We just wait." Nurse Joy said.

We didn't have very long to wait. Phoenix stirred, then slowly opened her eyes.

"Nngh…" Her eyes opened up fully, and she looked cautiously around. "Where…am I?"

"How are you feeling?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I'm okay…ish."

"Good." Nurse Joy smiled, then looked at me.

"Who're you lookin' at?" Phoenix asked, trying to tilt her head.

"You're friend is here." Nurse Joy stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll let you two talk, okay? If anything weird happens, just yell." I nodded, and she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Koya?" Phoenix asked. "She's talking about you, right?"

"Yeah." I said, moving over to the chair where Nurse Joy had sat. "It's me." The corners of Phoenix's mouth twitched up into what looked like a smile.

"Nice to see you." She said. "You okay?"

"Am I okay?" I asked. "Are YOU okay? I have a cut on my arm! You nearly got your whole face sliced off! Why are you asking if I'm okay?"

"I was wondering." The smile seemed to disappear.

"Sorry…" I said quietly, looking at the floor. "I had an argument with my mom. She said…I shouldn't talk to you anymore."

"You're quite the rebel then, aren't you?" Phoenix teased.

"Phoenix, stop!" I said, jumping up. "I'm serious! She said that I can't talk to you anymore, that you're nothing but trouble, and you're whole family is screwed up!"

"Well, your mom is right." Phoenix said. I sat down again. "I am nothing but trouble. And my whole family IS screwed up. I'm an outcast. But isn't your mom one too?"

"Um, yeah," I muttered. "We're both outcasts." This brought another small smile to Phoenix's face.

"Outcasts pushing out outcasts. How stupid is that?"

"Stupid." I agreed, a small smile spreading over my face. "It is stupid." Then, I thought back to what I had said in response to my mom saying that I couldn't be seen with Phoenix anymore. "I already said that I wouldn't listen to her."

"Good." Phoenix said. Just then, Nurse Joy came back into the room.

"Koya, you have to go now." I sighed and stood up.

"Hey!" Phoenix called as I went towards the door. "You're coming back tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah." I said, then left the room, closing the door behind me.

XxXxXxXxX

The next day, I went to IC unit again, this time without Growlithe or Lucky. When I got to Phoenix's room, she was reading a book, but glanced up when I came in.

"You're back!" She said, another smile forming on her face, which had significantly less bandages now. "I was starting to go insane from boredom."

"Books aren't boring." I responded, sitting down on a chair. "They're interesting."

"Then take this." Phoenix thrust the book at me. "I hate it."

"Phoenix, it's a book."

"It's a stupid book." She grumbled. "I'd rather be outside than inside this place reading."

"You sound like me." I teased.

"Then kill me now." Phoenix rolled her eyes. "You can go and sound like yourself any time of day, and I'll sound like my bored self, who hates this hospital."

"Don't say something like that." I said, putting the book on the floor. "Phoenix, you could've died, you know." Then something else occurred to me. "And I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because you should be sitting on this chair and I should be laying in that bed with the bandages all over my face!"

"You'd probably be enjoying the book, too."

"PHOENIX, I'M SERIOUS!" I yelled. "STOP JOKING! YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED! WHY THE HECK ARE YOU JUST SHRUGGING IT OFF LIKE IT'S NOTHING?"

A strange silence fell over the room. Nurse Joy poked her head in.

"Everything okay in here?" She asked.

"Fine." I said. She nodded and closed the door. I looked back at Phoenix, who had something that looked like tears in her eyes. "Phoenix?"

"Koya, I know what could've happened." Phoenix said quietly. "But I would rather see me die before I see you die. Especially for something that you didn't deserve."

"But-"

"No." Phoenix looked up. "I know. Trust me. The only reason I'm acting like this is because I'm glad that I'm still alive. And I'm glad to see that you're okay."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" I asked, folding my arms. Phoenix smiled again.

"Maybe a little."

"Stop it." I grumbled.

"Koya, you're too serious." Phoenix said, right out of nowhere. "You kinda remind me of a policeman. But you're not a man…"

**A.N. Well, she's right. –Sniv**

** Shut up. –Koya**

"…You're a boy." Phoenix finished thoughtfully.

"Obviously!" I exclaimed.

"So you're a policeboy!"

"That doesn't even make any sense." I frowned. "Why policeboy?"

"'Cause you're serious and act like you're older than you really are! Like a policeman. But you're not a man, you're a boy!"

**A.N. I don't care, she-**

** I said SHUT UP. –Koya**

"…So you're a policeboy. Understand?" I shrugged.

"Just so long as you don't call me that when we're around other people…"

"Koya?" I turned around, and Nurse Joy was standing in the doorway. "Visiting hours are over."

"Oh." I got up out of the chair and walked towards the door. Just as I turned the doorknob, I heard Phoenix yell:

"See ya soon, POLICEBOY!"

XxXxXxXxX

I went back a few days later. When I entered Phoenix's room, she was still reading a book with an angry look on her face.

"How's the book?" I asked, sitting down in a chair.

"Terrible." Phoenix said, dropping the book down on the ground. The bandages were gone, replaced with a few little bandages cut in the shape of Beautiflies.

**A.N. Y'know, Butterfly Bandages. **

"Looks…better…" I said.

"What does?"

"Your…" I pointed to her face. "Y'know, your…"

"These?" Phoenix laughed, pointing to the deep cuts on her face. "Yeah! Only problem is, they're gonna be permanent, something like that."

"So you're gonna have scars?" I asked. "Don't tough guys usually have scars?"

Phoenix cracked up. "I'm not a tough guy?"

"Well…" I said with a shrug. "You're not a guy."

"Duh!" Phoenix said, still laughing. "'Course I'm not! Wouldn't be here if I was, anyways!"

When she said that, something occurred to me. "How much longer will you be in here?"

"Oh, like a week or something. And stop shrugging!"

"This again?"

"Yes, POLICEBOY, this again." I felt my face heat up for some weird reason. _What's my problem? _

"Shut up." I grumbled, looking away.

"Aw, lighten up, stupid." Phoenix grinned. "It's not that bad. I could call you something different, if you wanted me too."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Ummm…Koy-Koy?"

"NO!" I yelled. "Fine! Keep it at Policeboy. Whatever."

"C'mon, you like the nickname!" Phoenix laughed. "You're just to embarrassed to say it."

"NO, I DON'T like the NICKNAME!" I yelled again. "GET A HOBBY!"

"If I wasn't shut up in here, I would." Phoenix said, a hurt look on her face.

"Fine, fine." I said hurriedly, standing up.

"You're going already?"

"Yes." I ran towards the door, opened it up, then slammed it behind me. Panting, I leaned against it.

_What is wrong with me? _

**A.N. THAT…took a while. Sorry for the wait! And apologies for not updating The Fight Over Rosa, I had the chapter finished, but I didn't realize it. Oops. But hey! It's updated. And I don't own any characters, except for Phoenix! So ya! Bai for now! And Koya, you're not a man. –Sniv**

** YES I AM! -Koya**

** No you're not. –Phoenix**

**UPDATE: 11/25/14- Added the day spacing, because for some reason, it was deleted the first time I put it in. **


	10. Chapter 10: I Hate Myself

**A.N. Soooo…Chapter 10! This thing is really taking off! YAYYY! I'm happy. Umm…yeah. This chapter contains some minor SacrificeShipping. BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE SACRIFICESHIPPING IS OTP! I don't own anything…blah. –Sniv**

_About a week later…_

I was sitting against the rock on the Valor Lakefront, Growlithe lying next to me. _What's taking her so long? _Sighing, I scanned the lakefront once more.

Nothing.

"Where is she, Growlithe?" I asked impatiently. Growlithe shrugged.

There was a burst of loud laughter coming from the entrance, followed by some cursing. Growlithe and I stood up and went over to where the commotion was. We could hear what they were saying now.

"Scar-face!"

"Outcast!"

"You should've been killed!"

The jeers and teasing continued as people moved into a line-ish shape. One person seemed to be pushing through the crowd.

"The whole town must be here…" I said, walking closer to the group.

"SHUT UP, YOU HALF-FACED ASSES, AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Someone screamed.

The crowd parted, with a few "ow!"s and "watch it!"s to boot, and Phoenix came stomping out, Lucky behind her, looking like she always had, but a little angrier.

And she had two scars across her face, one cutting her lip in half, just barely missing her nose, forming an "x" on her left eye. There were two cuts on her arms as well, both of them very deep.

"Stupid…idiots…" She muttered to herself. The crowd began to exit the lakefront, most of them laughing like idiots.

"Phoenix?" I said, coming up to her. "You're out, right?" Phoenix nodded.

"I'd rather be back in there." She said, looking at the ground. "I look weird. Everyone's laughing at me. I want to go back to the hospital, where no one can see me."

"No…" I said. "I'm not gonna laugh at you. I can't, even if I wanted to, which I don't! And I thought you hated the hospital!"

"I do." Phoenix said, picking Lucky up. "And now I want to go back."

"You're not serious about this, are you?"

"I am." She said, squeezing Lucky a little bit tighter.

"Well, stop." I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to the rock. "It's not like you to say this kind of stuff."

Phoenix shook her head. "That doesn't change anything."

"Like what?"

"The fact that I hate myself."

I did a small double take. _What's she saying? _

"Listen." I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. Phoenix opened her mouth, but I cut her off. "No. Just shut up and listen. And put Lucky down." She nodded, and put Lucky on the ground, and he ran off to play with Growlithe. "Phoenix, stop saying things like that. You shouldn't be upset about what you did. You're braver than all of those other idiots who were making fun of you. Now can you stop being such a downer?"

"Koya…" Phoenix said, still looking at the ground. "Why are you helping me?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY FRIEND!" I yelled in her face. "Phoenix, did he slice your brain in half too? Did they put something weird in you at the hospital? You're the one who's always saying that you're my friend! You're always sticking up for me! I can't do those things for you, too? Why not?"

"I never said that you couldn't…"

"Then let me help you. Okay?"

"Fine." Phoenix said with a small smile. "You're my friend Koya…so you can help me. And I'll help you."

I nodded. Then, without thinking, I wrapped my arms around Phoenix's neck and gave her a hug.

"You don't have to do everything alone, you know." I muttered under my breath. I could feel her arms reach up around my neck to hug me back.

"I know…"

**A.N. Holy shit, what did I just write? I am redoing this as soon as I can get a few more chapters of this story posted. Blarp. I'm sorry! I've ben really stressed out lately and haven't had a chance to update…please don't be mad! Eeek…I'm sorry… -Sniv**


	11. Chapter 11: The Second Attack

**Hey, all! So, one thing that I forgot to mention is that this story has a huge amount of time skips. This one is about 6 weeks. Basically, Phoenix and Koya have been battling and shit, and yeah. So this is the part were it kinda starts following the manga that Koya's from. Enjoy! (Also, this chapter may contain a few spoilers). –Sniv**

I was down at the lake again, and had been for about three hours. Phoenix was supposed to be there a while ago…but she hadn't shown up yet. Which was unusual. The only other time that this had happened was when she had gotten out of the hospital.

_Did something happen to her? _I thought to myself. Out loud I said: "Growlithe, you ready?"

"Growl! Growli!" (Yeah! I'm ready!)

"Your readiness is for nothing, I'm afraid." A voice said. I felt a strange shiver run up my spine, and I slowly turned around.

It was Cyrus.

"YOU!" I yelled angrily. "Where's Phoenix and Lucky? Did you actually end up killing her this time?"

Cyrus shook his head. "That will come later. But…I do think that you need to understand something. You won't see her. Ever again."

"W-what?" I said, shaking a bit. "What do you mean?"

"She's gone." Cyrus said simply. "Somewhere. I don't even know."

"WHAT DID YOU DO WTH HER?" I yelled, anger getting the better of me. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"I already said that I didn't know, you ignorant boy." Cyrus snapped. "There isn't anything that you can do about it. There isn't anything that I can do about it. She's gone."

"Where did she go? And why can't I see her anymore?"

Cyrus sighed. "I left her in the woods." He gestured to the woods that surrounded the lake. "And I said that she couldn't come back. If she did…then it wouldn't have ended well. For you." My mouth dropped. "She said that she wouldn't leave the woods. You should've seen how fast she agreed…astounding, really."

"You…you…" I growled. Growlithe stood up next to me. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE!" I yelled, right out of nowhere. "And if I win, then Phoenix can come back."

"And if I win…" Cyrus said, a creepy look coming over his face. "Then we'll just have to see."

XxXxXxXxX

"Growlithe, let's go!" I yelled. Growlithe stepped out onto our makeshift battlefield, a proud look on his face.

"Gyrados!" Cyrus commanded. He threw a Pokéball, and out popped a huge, blue serpent. I knew that we were at a disadvantage already.

"GYRAAAAAAAA!" The Gyrados roared.

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower!" I commanded. A huge pillar of flame came shooting out of Growlithe's mouth.

"Dodge." Cyrus said. Gyrados moved left to avoid the flames. "Now…SURF!"

A ginormous wave of water came right out of the lake, heading right for Growlithe.  
"Growlithe! Get out of the way, get out of the way!" I yelled. But Growlithe couldn't move. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I cried.

The wave came crashing down on Growlithe, washing it about five feet away.  
"Growlithe…NO!" I ran towards my fallen partner. "NO!"

"I see no reason to punish you further." Cyrus said plainly, walking over to where I was. "Goodbye." He recalled the Gyrados and walked away.

"Growlithe…" I said, a few tears starting to fall down my cheeks. "Growlithe, I'm sorry…" I picked Growlithe up and ran as fast as I could to the Pokémon Center.

_I won't loose Growlithe. I won't! _

**A.N. Well, there you have it. For those of you who have actually read the manga that Koya/Growlithe/most of the characters that I'm using are from, then you probably know that Koya did challenge a Trainer with a Gyrados to a battle, and Growlithe was hit with a Surf attack. However, it's not exactly said who the Gyrados belonged too, so for story purposes, the Gyrados belongs to Cyrus. **

**And yeah. Spoiler alert. Sorry. But really, read the manga! It's great. **

**Chapter 12 is coming soon! Also, the story will be updated more often, now that it's leaving the land of exposition and actually getting into the good parts. Bai! -Sniv **


	12. Chapter 12: A New Mission

**A.N. Hello, friends! Chapter 12 is here! Again, this may contain some spoilers for the manga. Any spoilers are mostly for volumes 6-8, so I'm going to try not to ruin all of it…but read the manga. Seriously. It's awesome. –Sniv**

The Pokémon Center Lobby was very cold. That would probably be expected, since I was wearing just a vest and shorts. And the fact that I had been waiting for a few hours to see if Growlithe was okay.

"What was I thinking?" I asked myself, thinking back to the battle I just had with Cyrus. "You're so stupid, Koya!"

A strange thought popped into my head. _What would Phoenix say? _

I didn't know. I didn't want to think about Phoenix. She was the whole reason that I had battled Cyrus in the first place.

"You're stupid, Koya. Really, really stupid." I said again.

"Koya?" Nurse Joy said, walking over. "You can se Growlithe now."

"Where is he?" I asked, springing up.

**A.N. Let's just assume that Growlithe is a male. **

"The psychiatrist's office. It's just down that hallway, fourth door on the left." Nurse Joy pointed to a hallway that I hadn't noticed before.

_What's a psychiatrist's office? _I wondered as I walked down the hallway. It was a lot darker than the lobby. I stopped at the fourth door on the left, then knocked nervously.

The door opened to reveal a man with brown hair, glasses and a lab coat. "You're Koya?" he asked, peering down at me. I nodded. "Come on in." I walked in and he closed the door behind me.

There wasn't a lot in the room, except for a desk, a few chairs, a table and…Growlithe.

"Growlithe?" I said, walking towards the table where Growlithe was laying.

"You'll be happy to know that physically, it's fine." The man said, pushing up his glasses. "Emotionally, however…well…I'll let you find out."

"Hiya, Growlithe…" I said, reaching my hand out to give him a pat.

Growlithe started to shake, moving away from my hand. I shivered.

"Growlithe, it's me!" I said, now nervous. _What had I done? _Growlithe shook again, then moved, but this time, the shake it seemed to spread up my arm, and flooded throughout my entire body.

"Trauma." The psychiatrist said. "That's all."

I was still in shock. Growlithe was traumatized. I couldn't touch him. I couldn't touch my friend.

A few tears started making their way out of my eyes and down my face.

_This is all my fault. All of it. _

The psychiatrist left the room, leaving me alone. My eyes fell some white gloves that he must've left. I ran over and put them on. They were a little big, but they would be good for the time being.

_I won't touch another Pokémon with my bare hands. _I told myself as I made my way to the door. _I don't want to traumatize them like I did with Growlithe. _

"Bye, Growlithe…" I said quietly as I opened up the door. "I'll miss you."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

I was wandering around in Twinleaf Town, Pokémonless. _What could I do now? _I didn't want to go back home. That wouldn't go well.

I made my way over to a lamppost and looked at some of the signs attached. One in particular stood out to me.

It read:

**DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE? **

_**WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING TRAINEE OFFICERS TO JOIN OUR RANKS! **_

_ Trainee officers…_ I thought to myself. _I could join, and become a trainee. Then, maybe I could learn how to be a better trainer. And I could start over with all of this…_

Something weird occurred to me. _Phoenix did say…_

_ "Koya, you're too serious." Phoenix said, right out of nowhere. "You kinda remind me of a policeman. But you're not a man…"_

___"…You're a boy." Phoenix finished thoughtfully. _

_ "Obviously!" I exclaimed. _

_ "So you're a policeboy!" _

A strange, new hope was starting to form in my chest. I tore off the posted with my gloved hands and ran to where the International Police base was, just outside of Twinleaf Town.

_I'm going to join the International Police. And I'm gonna be a policeboy. _

**A.N. Well, there you go! Chapter 12 is done. We're really getting to the good stuff now! I really hope that more people review this…I've only gotten one so far. I'd really appreciate some reviews, people…especially because this story is already on Chapter 12. I've been doing my best, people. Please, review!**

**Also, Phoenix will not be making many more appearances for the next few chapters. But she's got a bit part coming up, so if Phoenix was the reason that you weren't reviewing, you can review now. She's going to be gone for a while. **

**Bai! -Sniv**


	13. Chapter 13: Bello and Koy-Koy

**Chapter 13! Wow! Okay! A few notes before the chapter starts. **

**-There is a new character that will be introduced. His name is Bello. It is pronounced Bey-YO. Like with the Spanish double L thing. **

**-Koya is about 8 years old now, as is Phoenix. So keep that in mind while you read the next few chapters. Especially about Koya. **

**-I have no other notes, so let's start! –Sniv**

_**A few months later…**_

The International Police is turning out to be great. I have new partners Pokémon now: Absol, Philoswine, and Metang. They're really strong. And I haven't lost a battle yet. Perfection was all that mattered now.

_This all is for you, Growlithe. I won't loose. Not ever. _I told myself as I walked down the hall towards my instructor's office, Absol walking next to me.

"Hey, Koya!" I turned around and saw the same instructor that I had been looking for running towards me.

"Hello, Bello." I said.

"Why so serious, Koya?" Bello asked, pulling at my black jacket that I had gotten when I first came. "You should lighten up a bit. Actually, let's make that a lot."

I rolled my eyes. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Right! Well, Looker has a new assignment. And it's supposed to be pretty big! So we're going down to the meeting room!" I nodded, and we started walking through the base to get to the meeting room.

"Looks like everyone's going to the meeting room." I said as we started drawing closer.

"Like I said, Koy-Koy, this is a big assignment!"

"Don't call me Koy-Koy!" I snapped, my gloved hand tightening on the briefcase that I carried everywhere. "My name is Koya!"

**A.N. An eight-year-old with a briefcase. Just take a moment to picture that. **

"Whatever you say, Koy-Koy." Bello teased.

"I SAID, DON'T CALL ME KOY-KOY!" I yelled, causing all of the officers in the hall to turn their heads in our direction.

"Why are you so touchy about that?" Bello asked as we made our way into the meeting room and sat down at the big table.

"I don't know." I growled, laying down the briefcase on the table, as other officers sat down around us. "It just sounds stupid." The truth was, I knew exactly why I hated being called Koy-Koy.

_"Aw, lighten up, stupid." Phoenix grinned. "It's not that bad. I could call you something different, if you wanted me too." _

_ "Like what?" I asked. _

_ "Ummm…Koy-Koy?" _

_ "NO!" I yelled. "Fine! Keep it at Policeboy. Whatever." _

I shuddered.

"Why did you shudder?" Bello asked again.

"Shut up." I grumbled.

Bello opened his mouth to say something, but by then, all the officers had sat down, and the meeting had begun.

"Officers." A man sitting at the head of the table said, standing up. His name was Looker, head of Sinnoh Police. "We have a very important mission coming up, for all of you in this room." He pointed to a wall behind him, on which an image was projected. Most of the officers stiffened up at the sight of it.

"Team Galactic!" Bello muttered under his breath.

"What?" I whispered.

"Team Galactic." Looker said, silencing the whispers that had broken out. "Yes. We have received word from a source that they have a new weapon. Naturally, we can assume that this weapon will be dangerous. So we have to stop it at all costs!" He pounded his fist on the table. "Now, the group will be broken into sections for this mission." As Looker began to assign the groups, my mind drifted away.

This would be my first mission. I couldn't screw it up. There was too much riding on this. Maybe I could even destroy the weapon…

"KOYA!" I heard someone yell.

"What?" I asked, snapping back to reality.

"You're on guard duty." Bello said.

"Guard duty?"

"You guard the building to make sure that no one gets in while we're in there." A female officer said.

"So I'm not going in the building." I said.

"Yes." Looker responded.

"Okay." I grumbled.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

We were all standing outside of the Team Galactic Building in Veilstone City. Looker turned to address us.

"Okay, people! No screwing up." Looker said firmly. "Break into groups, and let's go." The officers broke into groups, and I was left standing alone. "You're on the steps." Looker pointed up to about the 20th step. I sighed and began to climb up, stopping where I was supposed to. "LET'S MOVE!" Looker yelled, and all the officers started running up the steps. Bello gave me a thumbs-up as he passed by. I rolled my eyes and let Absol out of it's Pokéball.

"We're supposed to keep guard." I said to Absol. "So keep an eye out."

We had been standing on the steps for about 30 minutes. I could hear yelling and explosions coming from inside the building. A small crowd had gathered at the edge of the steps.

"This is really boring." I muttered under my breath. I turned to look at Absol, who had been standing in the same spot for the past half hour. Suddenly, its eyes glowed red and it shook. "Absol, what's wrong?" Since Absol had the power to sense natural disasters, I knew something bad was coming.

There was a huge explosion from inside the building, blowing the doors off completely. Then dust came billowing out of the doors. Someone came flying out of the building. It took me a moment to realize who it was.

It was Bello.

He landed with a huge thump and slid down a few steps. I ran down to him, Absol trailing close behind.

"Bello!" I yelled. "What happened in there?"

"The weapon…" Bello groaned. "It's…it's so strong…no one stood a chance…"

"What was the weapon?" I asked, kneeling down next to him. "What kind of machinery could do that?"

Bello laughed weakly. "It's…not a machine…Koya…"

"Then what is it?"

"It's…just a girl…"

"A GIRL?"

**A.N. Bum bum ba dummmm! I'm guessing that you already know who the weapon is. Just saying. **

**Anyway, ya. I don't own any characters except for Phoenix and Bello…blah. Reviews are VERY MUCH appreciated! Seriously. Chapter 13 and only one review? That's not cool. And I'm sorry if I seem like I'm demanding reviews, but I want to know what people think about this! And if they actually read this. Yeah…bai! -Sniv**


	14. Chapter 14: Traitor

**A.N. Yo! How is it going? Here's Chapter 14! And I'm sorry if I am neglecting my other stories. I really want to turn my attention to this one, because from here on out, it gets much more interesting. Trust me! So ya…Chapter 14! –Sniv**

"A girl." I repeated.

"Yes…a girl." Bello groaned. "What part of that…do you not understand?"

A new thought began to form in my mind. _If I could defeat the "weapon"…then I could really be an officer! Not just some lowly trainee. I'm going to beat that girl. _

"Bello, I'm going in." I said, standing up. Bello's eyes widened.

"No…Koya…don't!" I ignored him and turned around, then ran up the steps, Absol following close behind.

There was still smoke coming out of the doors when we reached the top. Coughing, Absol and I entered the building, unprepared for what we were about to see.

Officers, lying unconscious on the ground. Looker was near a wall, his lab coat in tatters. And in the middle of it all was a black and blue Pokémon, a ghost, a rock snake, and a girl.

With two scars cutting an X across her face.

I felt like a giant weight had been dropped on me.

"No…" I said, pinching myself. "No. You aren't here! You aren't really here, are you?"

The girl shook her head, looking at me with calm eyes.

"YOU AREN'T HERE!" I yelled angrily. "YOU AREN'T! I TRUSTED YOU!" Some of the officers began to stir, but I ignored them and focused on the matter at hand. "PHOENIX! YOU AREN'T HERE!"

Phoenix shook her head again. The black and blue Pokémon growled.

_Lucky? _I thought. _He evolved…into Luxio._

But for the ghost, which was a Haunter, and the rock snake, an Onix, I had no idea how she had gotten those.

Except for the time when she threatened my dad with an Onix. So she hadn't been kidding.

"Koya…" Phoenix said, so softly that I could barely hear her. "Listen to me…"

"NO!" I screamed. "I TRUSTED YOU, PHOENIX! HOW COULD YOU JOIN TEAM GALACTIC? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! YOU….YOU'RE EVIL! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!"

"No I'm not…"

"I DON'T CARE!" I yelled.

Then, I did something that I shouldn'tve done.

The same thing that alienated Growlithe.

The whole reason why I was in the International Police in the first place.

"PHOENIX! I challenge you to…a battle!"

_A reckless battle…_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Okay." Phoenix said. Onix slithered forward, leering at me.

"Absol." I looked over at it. "Let's go." Absol nodded and walked forward into the shadow of Onix.

"Onix!" Phoenix commanded. "Use Rock Slide!" A barrage of rocks came flying down at Absol.

"Detect!" I yelled. Absol jumped out of the way of the rocks that were falling down from the ceiling.

"Knock Absol down with Iron Tail!" Onix swung its tail and sent Abosl smashing into the ground.

"ABSOL!" I cried.

"Finish with Headbutt!" Onix reared up and charged into Abosl, sending it flying. It hit the wall with a sickening crunch.

"No…NO!" I yelled. I quickly recalled Absol and sent out Piloswine.

"Onix, come back." Phoenix said. "And Haunter, go!"

"Piloswine, Ice Shard!"

"Cut with Shadow Ball." The Shadow Ball cut through the stream of ice, causing an explosion. A big cloud of dust covered the battlefield. When it cleared, Philoswine was lying on the ground.

"PILOSWINE!" I cried.

"Asleep." Phoenix said softly. "That's all." She smiled.

"How?" I asked. Then it hit me. _Haunter knows Hypnosis. So she must've had it put Piloswine to sleep while the dust was still out. _

"Haunter, Dream Eater!" Haunter grinned and stuck out its tongue. The tongue stuck onto Piloswine, and both Pokémon began to glow as Haunter sucked the energy out of Piloswine.

And all I could do was watch.

"Now, finish with Nightmare!"

**A.N. Yes, Nightmare is a high-level move…but please. We're talking about a girl who just kicked the asses of the International Police. So it makes sense that her Pokémon would be high-leveled. **

Piloswine began to shake in agony as Haunter used Nightmare on it.

"Pi…lo…PILO! SWINE, PILO!" Piloswine was shaking and crying out, and it was only getting worse at the power of the Nightmare intensified.

"STOP!" I screamed. "STOP!"

Phoenix nodded. "Haunter, enough." Haunter looked crestfallen, but stopped the attack.

It was too late. Piloswine had already fainted.

_Absol and Piloswine are both down. _I thought as I recalled Piloswine. _But Metang is still able to fight. And she doesn't have a Pokémon that's good against Steel types. _With that conclusion, I sent out Metang.

Phoenix raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. Haunter backed up, and Lucky came in to take Haunter's place.

"Metang, use Ice Punch!" I yelled.

"Lucky, use Swords Dance to block!" A circle of swords sprang up and surrounded the Luxio, protecting it from the Ice Punch.

"Shoot." I muttered. "Metang, Meteor Mash!"  
"Swords Dance!" Phoenix commanded. Metang's attack was once more blocked by Lucky.

"Why won't you attack already?" I yelled in frustration.

"If you want me too, I will." Phoenix said, and an unsettling smile spread across her face. "Lucky, Fire Fang!"

"WHAT?" I yelled. "Metang, get out of the way!"

But once more, I was too late. Metang fell to the ground with a resonating _thud. _

"H-How?" I asked, falling on my knees. "How? You've always lost before!"

"I let you win." Phoenix said quietly, walking over to me. "I could've beaten you easily, Koya. "

"T-Then why?" I said, starting to shake. "I wouldn't have minded…I wanted you to win!"

"You wanted Growlithe to end up like your Pokémon now?" Phoenix questioned. "Koya, you love your Pokémon. It's easy to tell. And besides…the last thing I would've wanted to do was crush your spirit."

"I-I-I…" Everything seemed to be spinning. _I had lost. Phoenix had been letting me win. She was stronger than she said she was__**. **__She's part of Team Galactic. __**She's part of Team Galactic. SHE'S PART OF TEAM GALACTIC. **_

__With all that information being thrown in my face, I did the most logical thing I could think to do.

I blacked out.

**A.N. Awww, poor Koya! Y'ever have those times where you just want to give a character a hug? /hugs Koya **

**Anyway, what do you think? I'm really excited for the next few chapters! Also, I have an important announcement: The Fight Over Rosa is discontinued. I just lost touch with that story, know what I mean? I'll write more VisorShipping and SequelShipping drabbles. And maybe even HughxNate. Idk, really. So yeah, sorry if you read that story. If there's anyone who wants to keep it going on their profile, just PM me, because I'd be happy to let anyone do that, just so long as you don't totally trash it. **

**Well, that's it for now! Chapter 14 coming soon! -Sniv**


	15. Chapter 15: Phoenix's Note

**A.N. HI! Had some problems updating a while ago, but it's all good! Yay! So, on to Chapter 15 with haste! Again, since I've been forgetting: I don't own any characters used here (except for Bello and Phoenix). Let's start! WITH HASTE! –Sniv**

I woke up in a bed looking at a gray ceiling.

"Hey, Koy-Koy!" Someone to my right called. I looked around and saw Bello, who was lying in the bed next to me. He had numerous bandages on his face and his arms. "You sure took your sweet time getting up!" Bello laughed, pulling at the green shirt he wore in place of the jacket, which was currently hanging on a bedpost.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, by the time that I felt well enough to stand up, I walked back into the building, and saw you unconscious on the ground, and a girl wearing a uniform slipping something into your pants pocket. Then, she looked up at me and said 'You're Bello, right?' I told her that I was, and she nodded and healed all of your Pokémon. After that, she walked over to me and said 'Tell Koya that I'm sorry.' Then, she recalled her Pokémon and walked away." Bello recalled. He looked over at me. "You okay over there?"

I ignored him and slipped my hand into my right pocket. Nothing there. I tried my left pocket, and my hand came out with a folded-up piece of paper.

"Read it!" Bello said, rolling out of his bed and walking over to me.

"No." I snapped. "I don't want to hear what she has to say."

"You know her?"

"No."

"Then how did she know your name?"

"She knew yours."

"Yeah, she probably looked that up! But why would she heal your Pokémon and leave you a note? Koya, you know her, don't you?"  
"I SAID THAT I DIDN'T!" I yelled, crumpling up the note. "SHUT UP, BELLO!" Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. _What's wrong with me? _

"Koya." Bello said firmly. "As your instructor, I demand to know what is going on with you and that girl. How do you know a member of Team Galactic?"

"You're curious." I snarled. "Read the note." I thrust the note in Bello's face and rolled over on my left side. _I don't care about Phoenix anymore. _

"Hey," Bello put a hand on my back. "Koya, you should read the note. It's meant for you, not me."

"Go away." I snapped, a few tears making their way down my cheeks. My shell was starting to break open.

The next thing I knew, I had been rolled over onto my back and looking up at Bello, who was looking back at me with concern.

"Just read it, okay?" Bello said, placing the note in my hand. "I think that's what she wanted you to do."

I glared at him, but unfolded the note anyway. It was written in messy handwriting and had a few crossed-out words.

_ Koya, _

_You know my secret now. And I'm sorry that I never told you, but I wanted to keep you from knowing for as long as possible. _

_I liked being friends with you. We are still friends, aren't we? I hope that we are. This is a bit of a big thing, but anyway…you know what I mean right? _

_Truthfully, I've been with Team Galactic since I was little. You know how my dad's name is Cyrus? He's the leader of Team Galactic. So he decided to drag me into it. Trust me when I say that it's terrible. _

_And the last thing that I wanted to do was fight you, Koya. It's true that I did let you win, but you were really happy when you did. __I wanted to make you happy. Because I liked seeing you happy. It made me feel better about all the awful things that I had done. If I was making other people suffer, I should at least balance it out by making someone happy. And if I couldn't please my own wretched father, I would've had to please someone else, right? So I decided to let you win all of our battles. And I didn't care. I at least felt good that I could make someone that I really cared about happy._

_ Does that make at least a little bit of sense? I'm really sorry, Koya, I really am. That's not the way I would've chosen for you to find out, y'know? Please forgive me for this. But if you don't, I won't be surprised. We're enemies now, aren't we? Yeah, we are. That stinks. _

_ You're still my friend, Koya, even if you don't want to be. I liked spending time with you. It was really fun. _

_ Bye. _

_ -Phoenix_

I felt like I had been slapped in the face.

"Koya?" Bello asked. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." I replied.

"You're shaking," he said. "What's wrong?"

"I said, I'm fine!" I repeated, trying to regain control of myself. "Bello?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to be alone."

"Right now?"

"Yes." Bello nodded and pulled the curtains around my bed closed.

I rolled over in my bed, still holding Phoenix's note in my hand. I pulled up the blankets up to my face. A few more tears began rolling down my face, and they were soon joined by more, until I was crying hard, but in complete silence.

_You're not evil. _I thought to myself. _Phoenix, you're not evil. I'm sorry. _

**A.N. Well, that's Chapter 15! LET US EXIT! WITH HASTE! Hahaha, just wait! There's a huge time skip coming up, so keep that in mind! Please! Faiefja;eifj;e WE ARE GETTING TO THE GOOD PART! As always, I don't own anything, and if you would please review, that would make me very happy! So please review! C'mon people, Chapter 15. 1 review. Can we change that? -Sniv**


	16. Chapter 16: Sniv's Time Skip

**A.N. **

** Hello, everyone! So, this "chapter" doesn't have any real events happening, it's just me talking. But don't skip this, it's really important. **

** At the end of Chapter 15, Koya and Phoenix are both eight. At the beginning of Chapter 17, they will both be about 13. Since the manga that they come from doesn't give any specific ages, I just did some guessing. **

**AGES FOR CHAPTERS 17-END**

_**Koya-13**_

_** Phoenix-13**_

_** Hareta- 11**_

_** Mitsumi- 16**_

_** Jun- 16**_

_** Kaisei- 29**_

** There's about a five year time skip. See, I did say that there were a lot of time skips. This is the biggest, and most possibly, the last. (If there are anymore, they'd be about a day or so). **

**/****time skips**

**A few other things that you should know: **

**-Koya and Growlithe have reunited, so Koya's actually nice and not an asshole. Yep, spoiler alert. I won't say how, so if you're curious, check out the manga. I DEMAND IT. **

**-Phoenix is a member of the International Police. **

**-Team Galactic has been destroyed. (or has it? Spoilerish alert!)**

**I think that's about it. So I'll shut up now, and you can go ahead to Chapter 17! **

**-Sniv**


	17. Chapter 17: Tournament Meeting

**A.N. Hello! Yep, it's me again, even though I got a whole chapter to myself. ^-^ **

**Hahaha. Anyway, one more thing. In volumes 6-8, Hareta and the gang participate in the Sinnoh Tournament. We never find out who actually wins (read the freaking book people). But we're going to say, for this story, that nobody won. (read the book and you'll see why this makes sense. I'll give you a hint: Volumes 6-8 are the Platinum Chapter. See if you can figure it out). **

**Okay, I'll shut up now! ONTO THE STORY! –Sniv**

The second Sinnoh Tournament that I had participated in was under way. Hareta, Mitsumi, Jun, Kaisei, Professor Rowan and me were standing in the bleachers, next to the railing.

"I'm so pumped!" Hareta yelled. "I'm going to win this tournament!"

"Not if I can help it!" I laughed. "I'll win this year, Hareta."

"Actually, you'll both loose!" Jun said with a smirk. "Because this year, I have a super powered team!"

"You three are certainly excited." Mitsumi remarked.

"Why shouldn't we be?" Jun asked. "IT'S THE SINNOH TOURNAMENT!"

"YEAH!" Hareta and I yelled.

"That's the spirit!" Kaisei, Hareta's dad, cheered. "That's exactly what you all need!" He sent a significant look at me, and I knew what it meant.

A few months ago, I was a jerk who only thought that winning was important. A perfect win was all that mattered. But since I had Growlithe back, I had started changing a bit. I didn't care so much about winning as having fun, like I had before Growlithe was traumatized.

I looked down at Growlithe, who was sitting on the ground. I picked him up.

"You ready, Growlithe?" I asked. Growlithe nodded.

"HEEEEEEEYYYYYYY, TRAINERS!" The announcer yelled.

"Looks like he's really pumped too." Mistumi observed. Rowan nodded.

"It's hard not to be." Professor Rowan said. "It's a tournament, after all!" He turned to look at Jun, Hareta, and me. "I'm expecting good things from you three." We nodded.

"HEEEEY!" The announcer yelled again. "Well, folks, we've finished with the preliminary rounds! You are dismissed for lunch! The first few rounds of the actual tournament will begin in a few hours, so get yourselves fed! That's all! Matchups will be posted in a few minutes!" Everyone in the stadium cheered.

"Should we go check out the matchups?" I asked once the general crowd of people had left.

"Yeah, then we can get lunch!" Hareta cheered. Everyone nodded, and we went out into the hallway to go find a matchup board.

"Over there!" Kaisei pointed. "There's a board! Oh. Someone's already there."

"It's just one girl." Jun said. "And it's just us three that have to check out the board, so there really isn't any point in all of us going over." He raised his eyebrows. "Wonder what happened to her, though!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, putting Growlithe down on the ground.

"She's got some crazy looking scars." Jun laughed. "One on her arm, and two on her face. They kinda make an X over her left eye. Other than that, she's kinda cute…" He said thoughtfully.

"WHAT?" I yelled.

"Well, Koya, if you like her, you'd better be careful. She's got a Luxray too!" Jun grinned. "I didn't know that you had hormones."

_Luxray? Scars? Jun thinks that I don't have hormones? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? _

"I have hormones!" I snapped.

"What're hormones?" Hareta asked in confusion.

"Then go and talk to her!" Jun said, ignoring Hareta and giving me a shove.

"I-I can't do that!" I said. "She's not even…cute! Seriously, Jun!"

She was wearing a red short-sleeved shirt, black leggings, and had a red sweater tied around her waist. There was also a black shoulder bag with Pokéballs attached to the strap. She also had red boots, white wrist guards, and a Luxray walking at her side.

"Damn!" Jun grinned. "You won't talk to her because you don't think that's she's cute? You must really like her to say that!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT!" I yelled. "I NEVER SAID THAT I LIKED HER!"

"Koya, calm down!" Hareta said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's just a girl."

"Yeah, but…"

"Fine!" Jun grinned, playing with his hair. "If you don't want to make the first move, Koya, then I'll do it."

"You go ahead." I grumbled.

Jun nodded and strode confidently in her direction.

"This isn't a good idea." Mitsumi said. "Koya, why didn't you want to talk to her, anyway?"

Just then, the girl punched Jun in the face.

"Maybe I like my face the way it is." I rolled my eyes.

Jun was trying to do…whatever the hell Jun does around girls. Whatever it was, it wasn't working too well. The girl socked him in the stomach, causing Jun to get a date with the floor instead. Jun got up slowly and staggered over to us again.

"She like a younger version of you, Mitsumi." Jun groaned. "She looked like she was going to Buneary-Punch me if I didn't leave her alone."

"You might get punched again." Rowan said. "She's coming over here now."

"Oh, no…" Jun said, hiding behind Hareta.

But the girl didn't want to punch Jun after all. She was heading straight for me.

"She might have the hots for you too, Koya!" Jun hissed. In return, I punched him in the face again. "What was that for?"

"Just saving her the trouble." I smirked, just as the girl came up to our group. She was about my height, but a little shorter, and she seemed to be looking me over with her brown eyes.

"Say something!" Kaisei hissed, poking me in the back. I turned around and glared at him, but when I turned back, the girl was smiling.

"Hi, Koya!" She laughed, smacking me in the arm.

Jun's mouth dropped open.

**A.N. Oh, Jun, you're such a pervert. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter (even if it was a bit obvious). And yep, Koya has hormones. Who knew? -Sniv**

**SHUT UP. –Koya**

**HAHAHAHA. Well, review, please! And I don't own any characters used in this chapter, except for Phoenix! -Sniv**


	18. Chapter 18: Hallway Confrontation

**A.N. Hi! So, I decided to rewrite this chapter, because I didn't like the way that it went. Seriously, I hated it. Blarp. Enjoy Chapter 18, ver 2.0! I don't own any characters, except for Phoenix. Let's get started! –Sniv**

"Hi, Phoenix." I muttered, rubbing my arm.

"Wait, you know her?" Jun asked in amazement. "Koya, how can a hormoneless loner like you have a girl for a friend?"

"JUN, I HAVE HORMONES!" I yelled. Phoenix laughed.

"You do?" She smirked. "Really? Never would've pegged you as that type, Koya."

I rolled my eyes. "You haven't changed very much."

"Well, neither have you." Phoenix chided, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're still the grumpy, serious, and frowny Koya from six years ago."

I frowned at her. "I don't frown, Phoenix."

"Koya, who is this person?" Hareta asked. "And how do you know her, anyway?"

I turned around to face the group. "This is Phoenix. We've been friends for a while. And I don't care that she's a girl, Jun, so shut up before I punch you."

"I feel very welcome." Phoenix muttered. She then brightened up as she looked around. "Oh, hi, Sumi!"

"SUMI?" Everyone said. Mitsumi sighed and shook her head.

"You're still going to use that nickname?" She asked.

Phoenix smiled. "'Course I am! Why wouldn't I? Just because we haven't seen each other for five years doesn't mean old informalities can't be reused."

Mitsumi shook her head again. "You really haven't changed that much, have you?"

"I like to think I have." Phoenix shrugged. "More than I can say for some people." She laughed, giving me a shove.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "I have changed." Jun snickered.

"Well, you two do seem to be very good friends." Kaisei remarked, eating popcorn that he'd gotten from Arceus-knows-where. "You're arguing a lot, at least."

"Like an old married couple." Professor Rowan added.

"PROFESSOR!" I yelled, while Phoenix started laughing. "We aren't...aren't..."

"Dating?" Hareta supplied innocently.

"WE ARE NOT DATING!" I cried.

Mitsumi sweatdropped. "Well, as long as you're catching up, why don't you two get lunch together? We'll meet you back here when the tournament restarts."

"Yeah!" Phoenix said. "What do you think, Koya?"

"Sure." I muttered, shooting a death glare at Jun, Kaisei, and Hareta.

We started walking away, and I heard Jun mutter: "Just so long as it doesn't lead to anything immoral..."

I sighed. Who knew having a girl for a friend could cause so much trouble?

**A.N. And that's a wrap! Cripes, Jun, you're such a pervert! Well, his father is kind of one too. Like father, like son, I guess. Anyway, if you'd read the first draft of Chapter 18, did you like this one better? I know I did. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like the way that the other one went. Oh well! Phoenix and Koya are going to have lunch together! Ehehe...SacrificeShipping. ISH ME LIFE, PEEPS! ****Bali! -Sniv**


	19. Chapter 19: Exposition over Lunch

**A.N. Hello, friends! Welcome back. So corking to see you. Well, not really. I can't see you. Also, as a side note, this chapter is an explanation of Phoenix's side of the story (Chapters 7-14), so it's mostly exposition. You could skip though this chapter if you wanted to...but if you don't want to, go ahead and read it. It's kinda long, but oh well! Enjoy le chapter! And I don't own any characters…blah blah blah. –Sniv**

"So where do you want to go?" Phoenix asked as we walked out of the stadium.

I shrugged. "Wherever you want to go. I really don't care."

"You're still shrugging," she laughed. "Never had the chance to get your shoulders screwed down, huh?"

"What?" I looked over at her. "Oh. They aren't loose, okay?"

"If you say so."

"Well, I do!"

We walked in an awkward silence for a while, which was a little strange. When we were kids, that wouldn'tve really happened. But given the five-year gap…it wasn't like we could go back right where we were.

_That probably wouldn't be the best idea. _I thought, looking over at Phoenix again. The only thing that had changed about her were the clothes that she wore. Her personality had remained untouched.

"Hey! Policeboy!"

_Why couldn't she have forgotten about that?_

"You still here?"

"I'm here." I muttered.

"Good!" Phoenix cheered, grabbing my hand. "Now c'mon! We're going to have lunch, remember?"

I sighed.

"And stop sighing." She commanded. "That's pointless. It's a waste of breath."

"You're the one talking a mile a minute." I pointed out.

Phoenix stopped walking and let go of my hand. "Koya, is everything okay?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Everything's fine."

"Well, it's just that…you don't seem happy to see me. It's not like I was expecting you to anyway…" She took a breath and continued on. "But I missed seeing you."

"I'm happy to see you." I said, smiling. It wasn't a real smile.

She shook her head at me. "Liar. You're not really smiling. No one can go from quiet to smiling that fast, especially not you."

"What? Of course I'm smiling!" _Why am I saying all this? I'm happy to see her again, right? Team Galactic's gone! She's not an enemy! I'm not mad at her anymore, right? PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, KOYA! _

Phoenix raised her eyebrows. "You aren't. Koya, really. Is there something bothering you?"

"I…" My fake smile disappeared into a real frown. "I'll tell you when we eat. Okay?"

She nodded. "Fine. Oh, and I was wondering something, too."

"What?"

"I'll tell you when we eat."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

We ended up going to the Tournament Café for lunch. It was crowded with tournament participants and spectators alike, but thankfully there was no sign of Hareta, Jun, or Kaisei.

"So what is it that's bothering you?" Phoenix asked as we sat down at a wooden table.

I looked down at my lunch: soup, water, and bread. Sure, I had said that I would tell her when we ate, but now? No, not really.

"You go first."

Phoenix raised her eyebrows. "Seriously, Koya. What's bothering you?" She asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Team Galactic." I muttered in an undertone.

"What?"

"Team Galactic." I said, this time a little louder.

"What?"

"Team Galactic!" I almost yelled.

Phoenix sighed. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"I…I don't know. I read the note." I said, before Phoenix could ask. "I did. And I'm sorry that I called you a traitor, but…I think I still am mad. Mad because you never told me. And mad because you let me win all the time, even when you could've destroyed me."

An apologetic smile had stretched across her face. "Well, you did read the note. I wasn't allowed to tell you what I was doing. I think your mother knew, though." I stiffened up at the mention of my mom. "She knew that I wasn't a good influence, though. Everyone did."

"But we were both outcasts! Me, because of my eye color, and you…"

"Because my father was shady." Phoenix finished, taking another bite of her sandwich. "And I've always thought you didn't deserve to be an outcast. Eye color is such a stupid thing to judge people on. You look at someone's eyes, and say 'Oh! They have green eyes. Green eyes aren't good.' That's just ridiculous. How can eye color tell you what kind of person someone would be?"

"Horoscopes." I said quietly, tearing a piece of bread and dunking it in my soup.

"Those damn country asses will believe anything." Phoenix wisecracked. "Which isn't saying much for us, because we're damn country asses too. Although, I've always thought of myself as a damn country bitch who thinks of everything the other way around."

**A.N. Okay. I'm just going to step in here and say something. This isn't meant to make fun of people who live in the country. Rather, it's just Phoenix poking fun at herself for what she believes and how it differs from what other people in Twinleaf Town believe. **

"Can we get back on the main topic?" I asked. "And you are a country bitch, Phoenix. I'm not going to disagree with you there."

"I've been acknowledged," she laughed. "But you're right. We were outcasts. And when my dad came in with his Weavile…" She paused. "That was shown even more. No one cared about what happened to us."

"Why did he want to kill me?" I questioned.

"Cyrus saw you as a threat, Koya. A threat to his beautiful organization that would save the whole world from it's own problems. But he just didn't understand." She bit into her sandwich again and chewed thoughtfully. "He didn't understand what it meant to have someone that you really cared about. A friend, if you will. He didn't love my mother. She didn't love him. The only reason that he married her was so that he could have an heir to his organization. And he didn't love me, either. I was that one part in his 'perfect' plan. Only because I was different from everyone else, and I thought different from everyone else. And when you came into the picture, it messed things up even more for him."

"Because we were friends?"

Phoenix nodded. "I think that what he believed is that if we became close enough friends, then I would tell you what I was really doing. And who I really was. So a few weeks before he tried to kill you, he told me that if I kept spending time with you, he would know. And he would hurt you in some way."

"You still did, though."

"Well, I couldn't just start avoiding you with no explanation. I didn't have any plans to do so anyway. I liked spending time with you, Koya. It was really fun."

"I…it was. Really."

"Then my dad came along." Phoenix said, continuing her story. "And I was terrified when I saw him. I knew what was going to happen. If I had just listened to him, it wouldn't have. And when I was sitting in the hospital, I wished I had listened."

"Then why did you protect me?" I asked, dunking the rest of my bread in the soup. "You didn't have to. You wouldn't look like that if you hadn't."

"I'll put it this way: I'd rather have scars on my face than have your body in a graveyard. I'd rather have seen myself get hurt instead of you. And I knew that he wouldn't have killed me. That would defeat the purpose of my whole existence. At the time, I was one of the strongest commanders that he had. Why would he kill someone who could help him on to greatness? It'd just be counter-intuitive. And…Koya, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to go through all of that. It was my fault."

"You're alive, and so am I. It doesn't matter now. And…I can't really say that it's not your fault now that you've told me all of this." I took a drink of water. "But thank you. I…I'm glad I'm not dead."

Phoenix smiled. "Good to hear it, policeboy."

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" I asked.

She nodded, then took another bite of her sandwich, and a little piece of lettuce fell out.

"When you came to the building as a police officer…where was Growlithe? All you had was an Absol, Philoswine, and Metang. No Growlithe. Did something happen?"

"Gyrados." I muttered. "I challenged a guy with a Gyrados to a battle, he used Surf, and…Growlithe was traumatized."

Phoenix's eyes widened. "By the surf?"

I nodded. "And it was my fault. I challenged an opponent who was too strong, and Growlithe had to pay the price. After that, I became a jerk who only thought that winning was important. But I got Growlithe back, thanks to Hareta. And I'm different now. I've changed. I'm not a jerk who only cares about winning. I can have fun."

She nodded. "That's good. And you know what, Koya? You and Growlithe are very close. It's easy to tell. I'm sure that Growlithe doesn't blame you for what happened. Accidents can happen."

"It wasn't an accident." I said, looking down at what soup I had left. "Your father was the one that I challenged. I was mad at him for what he did. And since I let my emotions get the better of me, Growlithe suffered. It was my fault."

Phoenix looked horrified. "That was…oh, Koya! I'm so sorry…"

I shook my head. "It's fine. Like I said, Growlithe's back now, thanks to Hareta."

"Hareta's one of your friends, isnt' he?"

"Yeah."

"Friends can help you do a lot, huh?"

"Yeah." I said again, looking around at all of the people in the café. People of all different ages, coming together to see who was the best Pokémon Trainer in all of Sinnoh. But you can make friends in a tournament. It's always going to happen, isn't it?

"You ready to go?" Phoenix asked, standing up.

I nodded, standing up as well. "Let's go kick people's butts in a tournament, Nix."

She laughed. "If we have to battle, I'm not going easy on you. Just saying."

"I don't expect you to anyway." I said as we walked out of the café.

**A.N. Happy exposition! Yay. Anyway, the tournament is about to start! HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT? It's very freaking awesome. Anyway, review, if you'd please! That'd be greatly appreciated! Bai, friends! -Sniv**


	20. Chapter 20: Surprise Participant

**A.N. Hi! I'm back with more! Sorry for not updating. **

**Also, for Shipping Insanity: It's been put on hold until I can finish this story first. Trust me, there are only a few chapters left, so if you follow that story, then you don't have very long to wait. Okay? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. /sadness**

After lunch, Phoenix and I made our way back to the stadium. When we passed by the matchup board, Phoenix grabbed my arm.

"Might as well check…" She said, turning to look at the board. "Hm. Looks like I'm up against a guy named Jun. Name sounds kinda familiar…"

"That was the guy who tried to hit on you." I said, trying to find my own picture.

"Oh, yeah!" Phoenix laughed. "I remember him. Well, at least I'll get some payback."

"You punched him in the face at least three times." I remarked, still looking for my picture. "If that's not payback, I don't know what is."

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, good point." She scanned the matchup board, then pointed at a picture. "There you are, Koya."

I looked at where her finger was pointing. I was matched up with a female trainer that I didn't know the name of.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. "Koya and Phoenix!" We both turned around and saw Hareta, Jun, Mitsumi, Professor Rowan, and Kaisei walking towards us.

"Hi!" Phoenix said cheerfully. "How was your lunch?"

"Delicious!" Hareta cheered. "But now I'm ready for the tournament to start!" He looked at the matchup board.

"Move over, you three!" Jun said, pushing Phoenix aside. His eyes stopped on a certain place on the matchup board. Jun's face turned stark white, and his eyes seemed to get bigger. "Oh…no. No, no no."

"I think he found his matchup." Kaisei deadpanned.

Jun looked over at Phoenix, fear written all over his face. "I have to face YOU?"

Phoenix smirked. "Yep. Hope you're ready for some payback!"

"But you punched me three times!" Jun said, looking at the board. "There's gotta be some mistake."

"Yeah, but I'll get more pleasure out of wiping the floor with you." Phoenix turned around and started to walk away. "See you on the battlefield!"

"She's just being overconfident." Jun assured himself shakily. "Overconfident."

"Not really." I said, looking at Jun. "Hate to tell you this, but I'd say you're gonna have a hard time."

"How do you know how strong she is, anyway?" Jun shot back, folding his arms across his chest.

"If it's any frame of reference, she's about as strong as I am." I muttered. If it was possible, Jun paled even more.

"Hey, guys?" Hareta said, interrupting our talk. "How do you say this? It's Bellow, right?"

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked, looking at the board. "Oh. Hmmm…it does look like Bellow. Maybe you're right."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked, looking at the board as well. Now it was my turn to pale. "Ugh…well, it's pronounced Be-yo."

"How do you know how it's pronounced?" Kaisei asked.

"Well…" I said slowly.

"HEY, KOY-KOY!"

Everyone stared at me.

"Don't say anything." I muttered. "Please don't."

"Koy-Koy?" Jun asked, a grin starting to spread across his face. "Koy-Koy?!"

"Shut up."

"KOYA!" I winced. "HEY!"

"He knows you?" Mitsumi asked. "That guy who's running over here?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sadly…"

All of a sudden, I felt myself being lifted up in the air, then slung over someone's shoulder.

"Hey, Koya!"

"BELLO! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I WILL PUNCH YOU!" I screamed. I knew I was acting like a little kid, but…right now, it didn't really matter all that much.

"Hey, you all!" Bello said cheerfully. "You must be Koya's friends!" Everyone was staring at Bello with wide eyes and open mouths. "I'm Bello!"

"Put. Me. Down." I growled. "NOW."

"Naw." Bello grinned. "Don't be such a sourpuss, Koya."

"I'M NOT BEING A SOURPUSS! NOW PUT ME DOWN BEFORE I PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE!"

Bello shook his head. "No, not until you ask nicely." I sighed. "Now, let's see here. Hareta! Okay, sounds fun!"

"You're facing me!" Hareta cheered. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah!" Bello cheered. He held out his hand for a high five. "Good luck!"

Hareta returned the gesture. "You too!"

"ARE YOU GOING TO PUT ME DOWN OR WHAT?"

**A.N. Yes, everyone, at the very last minute, I decided to add Bello! Wasn't part of my original plan, but hey. Why not?**

**Also, the reason that I don't give a lot of description is because I like to leave the setting and/or appearances of characters up to the readers' imagination. That's why. So, if you have an idea of what the setting is, or what Bello looks like (I'll describe him later) then go ahead and use it! It's more fun that way. **

**Bai! -Sniv**


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